Man from Albuquerque sentenced to three years in federal prison for communication threats

           ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –Michael Nissen, 66, of Albuquerque, was sentenced on June 18 in federal court to three years and five months in prison for threatening to harm another in an interstate communication.

           On Aug. 7, 2019, a federal jury returned a verdict of guilty against Nissen on two counts of interstate communication containing threat to injure the person of another. According to public court records, on Nov. 2, 2018, Nissen was pulled over by New Mexico State Police (NMSP) and issued multiple citations in Torrance County, New Mexico. That evening, Nissen called NMSP dispatch and threatened to the kill the police officer who pulled him over. In November 2018, Nissen called and emailed NMSP Internal Affairs to complain about the police officer and again threatened to shoot the officer. On Dec. 13, 2018, Nissen called the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office to complain about the NMSP officer and stated he owned multiple firearms to protect himself from “rogue state cops.”

           Upon his release from prison, Nissen will be subject to three years of supervised release.

           The FBI and New Mexico State Police investigated this case with assistance from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Mysliwiec and Alexander M. Uballez prosecuted the case.